Trip Report – Twin Peaks: Moving Through Time at the Music Box Theatre in Sept. 2026

Twin Peaks fans have been blessed with quite a few opportunities to catch our favorite show on the big screen lately, but no other screening has been quite like the Twin Peaks: Moving Through Time series by curator Daniel Knox.

WHAT IS TWIN PEAKS: MOVING THROUGH TIME AT THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS?

Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre hosted this unique retrospective from September 18-22, 2026. The theater showed the entirety of Twin Peaks’ 1990s run, including the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and its deleted scenes in The Missing Pieces. But the real treat was the supplemental material meticulously assembled into “commercial breaks” by Daniel Knox.

Between each episode, Daniel compiled network promos, outtakes, talk show appearances, news coverage, parodies, and clips of other works featuring the Twin Peaks cast, all chronologically placed where they would fall in the timeline of the original broadcast. The effect was a uniquely immersive experience that transported the audience back to a time when Twin Peaks was in the zeitgeist and everyone, everywhere, was talking about it.

Certain days would also have added attractions in the theater’s lobby. I was grateful to be invited to display screen-used Twin Peaks props throughout the event, and I brought a few extra rarities for a special presentation to tie in with the end of the second season.

For anyone who has attended one of Daniel’s previous retrospectives, like 2025’s David Lynch: Moving Through Time, his attention to detail is nothing new. Still, I was blown away by some of the lost media that Daniel unearthed, which – even as a fellow Twin Peaks obsessive – I had never seen.

It would be impossible for me cover every piece of media shown throughout this five day event, but I will touch on the highlights below. I encourage Twin Peaks Blog readers to visit MovingThroughTime.org where Daniel is working to catalog all of this material so that formerly lost media can more easily be found – a mission near and dear to us here at the Blog.

ENTERING THE MUSIC BOX

Friday saw excited fans filing into the theater to watch the entire first season. But first, they would be met with incredible themed decorations created with love by the Music Box staff.

The Lounge was transformed into the Double R Diner, complete with a handmade Stockpot Soup display, blue roses on each table, and a functional neon sign.

On two TVs by the bar, Daniel played a looping slideshow of every single image archived on The Mauve Zone website.

Near the concession area, a blinking One Eyed Jacks sign would help attendees find napkins and straws.

Bob’s Big Boy and the Venus de Milo flanked the entrance to the ladies room.

And my personal favorite decoration, a replica of the anti-drug poster found in the Twin Peaks Sheriff Department.

A table near the entrance had a limited number of screen printed posters and shirts for sale with a beautiful graphic designed exclusively for this event.

I had to pick up one of these gorgeous enamel pins as well. Both the pin and the poster were designed by Zè Moutinho.

This sticker, drawn by Daniel when he was 14 years old, showed the depth of his commitment to Twin Peaks.

Daniel opened the show with some comments about the format of the event and what attendees could expect.

One slight compromise he made to the otherwise rigid chronological timeline was to include the Log Lady introductions before each episode. Though these were filmed for Bravo in 1993 when the show aired in syndication, they are simply best paired with their respective episodes.

And with that, we were off.

TWIN PEAKS: MOVING THROUGH TIME | FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 – SEASON 1

Beginning at 1:00 p.m., day one featured episodes 1.000 through 1.007. After each one, Daniel arranged small random giveaways that tied into what the audience had just seen.

The first giveaway was a handmade replica of Harriet Hayward’s “SWELL GAL” pillow as seen in the pilot episode.

Later in the day, the audience laughed when Daniel presented a family friendly version of Leo Johnson’s football filled with coke.

One interesting thing shown during a commercial break was a trailer for Meridian, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Charlie Spradling. While every Peaks fan knows Sherilyn’s name, some may not realize that Charlie Spradling played Swabbie at One Eyed Jacks. The movie was released on April 13, 1990, just days after Twin Peaks premiered.

Also included were television appearances like Sheryl Lee on Good Morning America, Lara Flynn Boyle on The Tonight Show, and Julee Cruise’s performance of “Falling” on Saturday Night Live. Twin Peaks really hit the ground running.

After episode 1.007 ended, the outtakes showed that the gloved hand that pulled the trigger on Agent Cooper actually belonged to Mark Frost. Having both written and directed this episode, this should be enough to dispel any misunderstandings about Mark Frost’s level of involvement in the show’s production.

The first day of the event ended with Julee Cruise’s VH1 special, including interview segments with David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti about the origin of their musical partnership, followed by the Twin Peaks cast’s appearance on Donahue. The latter polled the audience, asking who they thought would turn out to be the killer. Sorry Dr. Jacoby!

In my downtime at the prop table, I tried to document as many creative outfits and costumes as I could. Dante Charlton’s flashy Red Room ensemble took the cake on day one.

TWIN PEAKS: MOVING THROUGH TIME | SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2026 – SEASON 2, PART 1

A lengthy pre-show kicked off Saturday’s programming, as Twin Peaks had reached the height of its popularity by the summer of 1990 and a tremendous amount of buzz preceded the second season.

One thing I had never seen before was a trailer for Tobe Hooper’s TV horror movie I’m Dangerous Tonight, starring Mädchen Amick and Anthony Perkins. While this credit may not be at the top of anyone’s resume, it’s still an incredible intersection of talent.

Northern Exposure, the Pacific Northwest’s other cult favorite series, also made it into the pre-show with clips from the episode “Russian Flu,” where characters visit a familiar waterfall with some tongue in cheek Peaks references. Grant Goodeve appeared in this episode as Rick Pederson. He would later appear as Walter Lawford in Parts 13 and 15 in Twin Peaks: The Return.

Two weeks before the start of the second season, the Twin Peaks cast attended the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards where they had a whopping 14 nominations. Only Patricia Norris (Outstanding Costume Design) and Duwayne Dunham (Outstanding Editing) walked away with any hardware that night, but it was still momentous for a show that strayed so far from the beaten path.

The day before the season premiere of Twin Peaks, Kyle MacLachlan hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, where Chris Farley appeared as Leo Johnson in his very first sketch on the show.

While I did most of my watching through the window looking in on the auditorium, I snuck away from the prop table a few times for scenes that I just had to see among the crowd. Seeing BOB climb over the couch and crawl right into the camera is an even more intense experience on the big screen.

Saturday also included a special appearance from a live Great Horned Owl presented by Bill Washer and Lara Sviatko of the Stillman Nature Center in South Barrington, IL. Lara described the Center as “assisted living” for birds of prey that cannot be released into the wild. In the case of this owl, he cannot fly well. But this does not make him any less majestic.

Before taking photos with the owl, each person was reminded to stay completely still. I appreciated Bill and Lara’s emphasis that even in captivity, these are wild animals and we really interact on their terms.

Some Great Horned Owl facts I learned from the presentation:

• They can turn their heads 270 degrees (compared to humans who max out at about 180) thanks to extra vertebrae in their necks
• This male weighs approximately 3.5 pounds and has a wingspan of about 4 feet
• A Great Horned Owl can effectively hunt an area the size of a football field with the light of a single candle
• When an owl opens its mouth and vibrates its throat (“gular flutter”), it is doing so to regulate its temperature
• While some cultures associate owls with wisdom, others view them as harbingers of death (this one may be of particular significance to Peaks fans!)

The Stillman Nature Center depends on donations and sponsorships to care for these animals. Bill, Lara, and the Great Horned Owl were so generous with their time, answering our questions and posing for pictures. I would encourage any animal lovers to consider a contribution to the Center and support their great work here: https://www.stillmannc.org/support-us

Meanwhile, Daniel’s commercial breaks continued to surprise me with crossovers from the cast that I was not aware of. Clips from the neo-noir sci-fi thriller Megaville showed a young Billy Zane in his first leading role with support from fellow Peaks actors Grace Zabriskie and Al Strobel.

The last episode of the day was the Lynch-helmed 2.007, featuring the reveal of Laura Palmer’s killer. I watched this full episode in the theater and, despite having seen it a million times, I found myself overcome with emotion watching it in this setting. This episode is a masterclass in tone. Twin Peaks is not just a fringe curiosity. It is powerful art.

After the day’s episodes, Daniel cleansed the palate with Inside Twin Peaks – a PBS special interview with Mark Frost – and a secret show consisting of Russ Tamblyn’s appearance on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and the avant garde concert film Industrial Symphony No. 1. What a way to close out the night!

Oh, and my favorite outfit that stopped by the prop table on Saturday was this custom printed upcycled sweatshirt with David Lynch’s famous quote dismissing concerns about a lengthy scene, as heard in the bonus footage from the Twin Peaks: From Z to A boxset.

TWIN PEAKS: MOVING THROUGH TIME | SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2026 – SEASON 2, PART 2

A noticeably thinner crowd filed in on Sunday morning. This day’s screenings would span from episode 2.008 to 2.016, considered by many to be the show’s lowest point. Following the killer reveal, Twin Peaks had to find its footing and leaned on side stories while ramping up the Windom Earle conflict. It takes a few episodes to gain momentum, but I ultimately think there is a lot to love in this stretch, and Sunday was not without excitement.

Though the media was clamoring to find out who killed Laura Palmer, they sure got quiet once the question was answered. Perhaps they didn’t know how to confront the weight of the reveal. For this reason, Daniel’s commercial breaks were a bit more sparse on day three. The screen cycled through images of the StarPics trading cards. There were a few interesting interview clips though, including Lara Flynn Boyle’s appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.

During this time, James Marshall and Don S. Davis also appeared in the film Cadence, directed by Martin Sheen, where Charlie Sheen plays an inmate in a military prison in West Germany in the 1960s.

Given Ben Horne’s descent into Confederate delusion in these episodes, Daniel also included clips from Ken Burns’ docuseries The Civil War which had aired around the same time. This was very much in the zeitgeist in late 1990 and early 1991, and Peaks viewers surely made the connection when Ben found himself obsessed with General Robert E. Lee.

Sunday featured my favorite giveaway when Daniel got onstage with a tray of brie and butter baguettes, a la the Brothers Horne. After giving two sandwiches away, he chomped into the third before making his announcements.

“I wanna tew you abou’ dah segwet show dah we hab coming up – Wed Shoe Diawee, whiff Dabid Duchobny and Shewyl Lee…fowow’ by Beyon’ Weawity, whiff Kenneff Wewsh,” Daniel said with butter in his moustache. I’m sure the secret show remained a secret for some.

It turns out he was talking about a steamy episode of the Showtime anthology series Red Shoe Diaries starring David Duchovny and Sheryl Lee, which was shown in full. Wowza!

Next up was Kenneth Welsh starring as two characters in an episode of the Canadian sci-fi series Beyond Reality, appropriately titled “Döppelganger.” Being the great character actor that he was, Kenneth Welsh got a ton of work in this era. In addition to his 10 episode stint as Windom Earle, he worked on eight more films and TV shows while Twin Peaks was on the air.

I forgot to photograph a favorite costume on Sunday, but this fan was dressed up every single day of the series, starting with Laura Palmer and ending with Carl Rodd. In the spirit of Moving Through Time, this photo is from the first day of the event. Meanwhile…

TWIN PEAKS: MOVING THROUGH TIME | MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 – SEASON 2, PART 3

Monday’s programming closed out the second season, screening episodes 2.017 through 2.022. These were the episodes that aired after a hiatus in 1991, resolved thanks in part to a grassroots letter writing campaign by a group of fans known as C.O.O.P. (Citizens Opposing the Offing of Peaks).

I wore a C.O.O.P. shirt with this in mind.

During an extended dinner break, I was scheduled to give a special prop presentation in the lobby. Before episode 2.019, Daniel invited me onstage to talk about what that would entail.

“It’s been so special to see this show on the big screen, and see the performances in such great detail, and bask in the dialog written by Twin Peaks amazing writers. And in the context of a cinema, it really becomes clear how important a great director is,” I said.

“But something I feel gets lost in the conversation a lot is the physical world of Twin Peaks – the props, the set decorations, and even the sets that are built for the show.”

I then encouraged the crowd to pay attention to credits like prop master Jeff Moore, painter Dave Robinson, and art department coordinator Jula Bell in the next episode.

I was pleasantly surprised that so many attendees joined me in the lobby, even after visiting and taking pictures of the props throughout the previous three days. I went through each piece on the table sharing stories that were told to me by the cast and crew, including Michael Horse’s surprise in learning that the “T” on Hawk’s name tag stood for “Tommy” and Jeff Moore’s frantic search for rubber balls as requested by David Lynch in the middle of a shoot.

For this presentation, I also displayed some production Polaroids from Dave Robinson and Jon Danniells that show some of the prop work and set design in progress, like Waldo’s body double and the freshly painted Red Room floor. I am always happy to shine a light on the work that the crew members did to create Twin Peaks’ unmistakable atmosphere, and I am glad attendees seemed to enjoy it.

Monday was also the day that author Scott Ryan rolled into town with copies of his Twin Peaks and David Lynch books in tow, including his newest release, The Road to David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. It’s always a pleasure spending time with Scott and his wife Jen.

Meanwhile, a commercial break included Kyle MacLachlan’s 1991 appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, during which he promoted Oliver Stone’s The Doors. Kyle plays keyboardist Ray Manzarek and really learned the parts for the film. On this talk show, he performed “Light My Fire” live with the house band.

Kyle MacLachlan was busy in 1991, also starring in an episode of Tales from the Crypt called “Carrion Death.” He would later direct an episode of the show.

Jack Nance also stayed busy in 1991, with some “REALLY WEIRD STUFF,” as Gordon Cole might say. He and his wife Kelly Jean Van Dyke appeared in a low budget fetish video called Old Fashioned Spankings. If you must look it up, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I love it when my favorite shows reference my other favorite shows, and in the “Pod People” episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Joel and the Bots joke that a girl named Laura who dies in the woods has the last name Palmer.

Following episode 2.022, a slide show of Richard Beymer’s black and white photos played. These shots were taken on the set while the finale was being filmed.

Monday night’s secret show focused on rare Laserdisc releases. Joan Chen: 1992 November is a Mandarin karaoke Laserdisc that feels like a fever dream.

The Twin Peaks Visual Soundtrack, on the other hand, is a Japanese release that perfectly captures real life in the Snoqualmie Valley. A Japanese film crew visited the filming locations in the winter of 1991, and their footage is set to the Twin Peaks soundtrack. The version screened at the Music Box had English subtitles, which I had never seen before.

I couldn’t let the day end without snapping a picture of Ethan Kunoff in his screen accurate Agent Cooper duster. Pretty nifty.

TWIN PEAKS: MOVING THROUGH TIME | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 – FIRE WALK WITH ME AND MORE

The final day of the event started with a compilation of Japanese Twin Peaks coverage, including Kyle MacLachlan’s press tour and photoshoots, as well as the “Clue to the Mystery” Laserdisc.

Scott Ryan was also on hand to introduce his documentary The Double R Dream, which was co-executive produced by Twin Peaks Blog’s Steven Miller and scored by Daniel Knox.

During the Snoqualmie Valley’s annual Real Twin Peaks event in February, Scott fulfilled his dream of working at Twede’s Cafe, which served as the setting for Twin Peaks’ Double R Diner. It was as fun to watch Scott gleefully bussing tables in the theater as it was in person. He’s got a few months to practice wrapping silverware before Twede’s owners Rachel and Max decide whether to have him back.

Before the 35mm screening of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Daniel screened archival media coverage including David Lynch’s press conference at the Cannes Film Festival.

In response to a question about the movie’s depiction of violence, Lynch said, “We’re attacking films for violence and not doing a whole lot in the world for violence, and film is a safe place to have experiences.” This quote has always stuck with me.

Scott Ryan and Daniel Knox returned to the stage to address the sold out crowd and introduce the film. For at least some of the attendees I spoke to, this was their first time watching Fire Walk With Me. Scott and Daniel conveyed the power of the film, and I knew those first timers were in good hands.

Having worked as the Music Box projectionist for two decades before moving to Portugal a few years ago, Daniel excitedly showed me the projection room that he once called home.

He showed me how he would check a print for flaws with a light box and magnifying loupe.

One of the things I appreciate most in life is craft. I loved seeing Daniel step back into his former role for a moment, using this skillset that relatively few people have. This look behind the curtain was one of the highlights of my experience at the Music Box.

What would a Twin Peaks marathon be without pie and coffee? Hoosier Mama Pie Company was on hand with beautiful slices of cherry pie and other delicious baked goods. I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best slices of pie I’ve ever had. Any Chicago friends with a sweet tooth can find them here: https://www.hoosiermamapie.com

After a short break, an encore presentation of the pilot episode followed the prequel film. Seeing Laura Palmer’s suffering and release before the events of the pilot reframes the story as hers, as opposed to the second hand version we hear from those around her.

Finally, The Missing Pieces completed the picture. Though these scenes were not made available until the Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery boxset was released in 2014, they were filmed as part of the feature and cut out of necessity. This is the last footage we would see of some beloved characters, and a thorough presentation of Twin Peaks’ 1990s run would not be complete without it.

Though Ben Horne’s scenes were cut before filming for Fire Walk With Me began, dutiful cosplayer Ethan Kunoff picked up the slack in the pine weasel department in my favorite costume from the entire event.

TIME AND TIME AGAIN

Having experienced five days of Daniel Knox’s meticulous work in creating an immersive experience for Twin Peaks fans, I am so glad that he is already brainstorming for the next iteration of Moving Through Time. It was an honor to have contributed a small piece to the incredibly detailed picture that Daniel painted of a time when Twin Peaks was on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

Thanks are due to Daniel, Scott Ryan, the Stillman Nature Center, Hoosier Mama Pie Company, and the wonderfully creative and patient staff at the Music Box Theatre for going all out to give Twin Peaks die hards an event to remember.

For information on future events and the launch of the Moving Through Time website, follow @MovingThroughTimeOrg on Instagram or @MovingThruTime on X.